When They Grew Up
by Sophie Temrer Rimmer-Artley
Summary: Sequel to When She Departed... which is the sequel to When She Arrived. YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THESE STORIES. Rimmer/OC, Lister/OC
1. Prologue

**AN: OK, and now comes the sequel to When She Departed, which in turn was the sequel to When She Arrived! I don't quite know where exactly this fic is going to head, but I'll see where my imagination takes me. Just so you know, Hannah is eighteen, Jim and Bexley are ten, and there are two new additions to the Red Dwarf posse, both aged two, names to be revealed. Enjoy!**

Loud sounds of laughter echoed around the cargo bay of the JMC mining ship Red Dwarf, and a young woman with meticulously straightened brown hair came running out from around a large stack of crates.

"I know you're around here somewhere!" she shouted breathlessly, scanning the cargo bay with a well-trained gaze. She heard sniggers from somewhere, and whirled on her heel to see two identical pairs of shoes peeking out from behind one of the legs of Blue Midget. She tiptoed over, deliberately walking past.

"Well, I don't know _where_ Jim and Bexley are. I can't _possibly_ think where they're hiding." she said emphatically. There was further sniggering, and she swooped down and grabbed the twins by the ankles, holding them upside down in midair with their dreadlocks looking as though they stuck up from their heads.

"Aw, no fair! You cheated, Hannah!" Jim protested.

"I think I feel sick. Can I get down?" Bexley complained.

Hannah Rebecca Waters-Rimmer looked at Jim and Bexley Stinson-Lister for a moment before gently lowering them onto their backs on the floor of the cargo bay.

"Right, who wants to help me find the others?" she said. The twins jumped up eagerly and nodded. "Come on then!"

The three of them set off, searching high and low. Jim spotted a tuft of curly ginger hair behind a crate and nudged Bexley. The two boys crept up and grabbed Arnold David Waters-Rimmer (Arnold Junior – AJ for short) by the arms and hauled him out of his hiding place.

"Ow!" AJ complained, rubbing his arms. "Han-nah!" he wailed, running over to his elder sister and grabbing her by the leg. "Jim and Bexley hurted my arms!"

"Boys, I've told you to be careful with AJ, he's very sensitive." Hannah chastised the twins.

"Yeah, he's a wuss!" Jim sniggered. Bexley gave his twin a stern look, and Jim cringed and shut up.

"Now if you boys have found AJ, then where's...?"

"Hi-yah!" shouted a little voice behind Hannah, and the human hurricane known as Kacey Stinson-Lister charged over, her long brown hair flying out behind her, and tackled Hannah's other leg. Hannah did an elaborate fake stumble and fell onto the floor, taking a giggling heap of children with her.

"All right you four, time to go find Kryten and help with the chores!" she said after a few minutes, still trying to regain her breath.

"Awww!" they chorused.

"Go on, or I won't give you hot chocolate at bedtime, and you'll have to drink urine recyc water instead."

"Icky!" Kacey protested.

"Yuck!" said AJ.

Jim and Bexley pulled identical expressions of disgust.

"Chores. Now!" Hannah said. Jim and Bexley were gone like a shot, and AJ got up, dusted himself off, and offered a hand to Kacey, who took it. AJ helped Kacey to her feet and the two year olds toddled out of the cargo bay hand-in-hand. Hannah stood up and watched them go with a smile. They would make a wonderful couple someday...

"Hannah?" Her reverie was interrupted by her father, Arnold Judas Rimmer.

"Hi dad." she said vaguely.

"Those kids been running you ragged again?" he laughed softly.

"Well yeah, but I was... I was thinking. I'm never going to have that, am I? No children of my own."

Rimmer put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey hey. We might find someone out there for you."

"Dad, we're in deep space. Dating opportunities are few and far between. And besides, I think GELF grandchildren might be a bit too much for you and Mum to handle."

Father and daughter laughed together in harmony, their voices echoing around the cavernous cargo bay.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. It isn't fair, I know."

"It's the same for the twins. They'll probably never find girlfriends or wives." Hannah said sadly. "But I think AJ and Kacey could be perfect together some day."

"We'll just have to see. They might end up hating each other. After all, AJ's half a Rimmer, and Kacey's half a Lister."

Hannah laughed. "You're an old cynic, that's your trouble Dad."

"Hey, less of the old, thank you. I'm still in my prime. This dog's not had his day yet." Rimmer smiled.

"Come on, they're probably driving Kryten nuts by folding all the laundry wrong on purpose." Hannah said, and as they left the cargo bay, Rimmer thought of something.

"Hannah?"

"Yes Dad?"

"I'm proud of you, honey." Rimmer told her.

"Thanks, Dad." she said with a smile.

**This was a warm-up to get me into the swing of things, I'll be starting an actual storyline next time! Review please!**


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Right, here we go with some kind of plotline! Sorry it's been so long in coming, writer's block and college work has overwhelmed me! Enjoy!**

Crystal Caroline Waters waltzed around the drive room humming to herself as she hung decorations from the walls. It was almost Christmas on the Small Rouge One, and the kids were getting overexcited, as per usual, and Kryten was trying to get them to help with decorating the Christmas tree.

"I wanted to put that bauble on the tree, smeghead!" Jim complained.

"Well why don't you put that bauble on, gimp?" Bexley retorted.

Boink. The bauble bounced off Jim's head and to the floor. Jim picked it up.

"Why don't you?" Jim snapped.

Boink. This time the bauble missed Bexley and hit Kryten in the face.

"Master Jim, Master Bexley, please be nice to one another!" Kryten begged whilst trying to disentangle the fairy lights from around the Hoover attachment protruding from his groinal socket.

"Ohh, pretty! Mine!" Kacey said in delight, picking up the end of a string of tinsel.

"No, mine!" AJ said, grabbing the other end and trying to tug it away from her.

"No, mine!"

"It's mine!"

"MINE!"

"MINE!"

Swish, thump. Kacey lost her balance and landed flat on her face on the floor as AJ pulled the tinsel out of her grasp.

"Mummyyyyyy!" wailed Kacey. "AJ hurt meeee!" Rebecca Stinson came running into the drive room, closely followed by her husband Dave Lister.

"Oh, my poor baby, are you hurt?" Rebecca gasped, picking her daughter up and hugging her close. Kacey wriggled in her mother's grasp, clamouring to be let down, and Rebecca did so, kissing Kacey's forehead softly. Lister turned and yelled out of the drive room door.

"RIMMER! Where are you, smeghead?"

Rimmer and Hannah calmly entered the drive room by the other door.

"Something the matter, Listy?" Rimmer asked.

"Your son – " Lister spat, whirling around to face Rimmer. " – just knocked my daughter onto her face! She could have broken her nose! I want him to apologise to her right now!"

"Arnold!" Rimmer said ominously. AJ looked up, his blue eyes wide and fearful at hearing his real first name.

"Yes Daddy?"

"Come here." Rimmer told him. AJ walked over and looked up at his father, who stared down at him. "It was very wrong to pull Kacey over like that. I want you to say you're sorry to her."

"Sorry." AJ mumbled.

"Properly please, son." Rimmer insisted. AJ considered this for a moment, then walked over to Kacey and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry Kacey." he said earnestly.

"That's okay AJ." Kacey replied, giving AJ a kiss on the cheek. AJ turned bright red, his face clashing with his vibrant ginger hair.

"Awww!" Crystal, Hannah and Rebecca said together.

"They're just too darn cute!" Kryten said sentimentally.

Jim and Bexley each raised an eyebrow at each other, then pretended to puke.

"Boys, behave!" Lister scolded them, although he couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"Good boy, AJ." Rimmer said to his son, picking him up and holding him close so their noses were touching. "Now, who wants to help Daddy with his astronavigation revision?"

"No!" AJ said. Rimmer narrowed his eyes and threw AJ up into the air before catching him on his way down. AJ squealed in delight and laughed.

"Do you want to help Daddy with his revision?"

"No!" AJ grinned, only to be sent skywards again. Kacey watched AJ refuse to help several more times before giving in and saying yes through hysterical laughter.

"Anyone else want to lend a hand?" Rimmer asked.

"No!" Kacey said loudly, holding her arms out to Rimmer, who laughed and went through the whole charade again with Kacey, before the giggling toddler managed to gasp out a yes.

After the two of them had calmed down a little, Rimmer was about to take them out of the drive room when the Cat walked in.

"Aooww! Hey buds! I'm lookin' so gooood!"

"Unca Cat!" AJ and Kacey chorused, squirming out of Rimmer's arms and each grabbing one of Cat's legs.

"Awww, ain't that something – hey! You kids creased my suit!" Cat groaned as they let go to reveal two now very scrunched up trouser legs. The pair giggled and ran to hide behind their respective fathers. "Goal-Post Head and Gerbil Features, you're getting my dry cleaning bill!"

"Oh, I quiver in fear." Rimmer said sarcastically. Cat huffed and left the drive room again.

"I can't believe he's fallen for that one every time." Crystal said, shaking her head.

"Gimp." AJ proclaimed proudly, and everybody laughed, except Crystal, who frowned at Jim and Bexley.

"Twins, I've told you not to use words like that in front of AJ. He'll only pick it up as he learns." she said.

"Sorry Auntie Crystal." Jim and Bexley said in unison. Kacey stuck her tongue out at them.

"Smegheads." she said to them, grinning, making everyone laugh again.

"She's going to end up like her father if you boys don't lay off the bad language." Rebecca told the twins sternly. They both hung their heads in identical fashion.

"Hey, I don't swear that much!" Lister complained.

"Yes you do, darling." Rebecca said. Lister moved to stand behind the twins and hung his head too, making everyone laugh for a third time. There was a flash, and everybody blinked in surprise as Kryten looked out from behind the camera.

"Sorry." he said. Rimmer picked AJ and Kacey up again and carried them out of the drive room. Kryten resumed decorating the tree, aided by Jim, Bexley, Hannah and Lister.

"They're growing up so fast." Crystal said sadly. "I can tell AJ's hair is getting darker, and Kacey's grown a good few centimetres lately."

"They've got to grow up, Crystal." Rebecca pointed out.

"I know. But the thing is, if they're getting older, it means we are. And I feel bad that you and Lister have to actually age when me and Arnold can stay young forever."

Rebecca put an arm around her best friend's shoulders. "Don't worry. I can handle it." she said with a smile.

"I don't know if I can though." Crystal admitted.

Rebecca laughed. "It's OK. If I'll be fine, so will you."

Crystal smiled. "With a friend like you, I'll always be fine."

In the sleeping quarters, Rimmer had given up all hope of doing any revision, as AJ and Kacey had gleefully ripped his timetable and notes to shreds and were now throwing it up in the air and shouting "IT'S SNOWING!" at the tops of their voices. He smiled. They had only ever seen snow on vids and in pictures, yet they still knew it was associated with Christmas. He wondered if they would ever see snow in real life. He pondered for a moment, then looked up.

"Holly?" he whispered. Holly popped onto the screen

"Yes Arnold?" Holly asked.

"Are there any planetoids in the vicinity at the moment?"  
"A few. Why? Planning another holiday are you?"

"Something like that, Hol." Rimmer smiled. "Can you check if any of them are snowy? I'd really love to show the kids what real snow is like."

"I'll check it out, Arnold." Holly popped off the screen again. AJ and Kacey had grown bored of the snow-paper game and were now clambering all over the furniture, and Kacey shrieked as she slipped on the bunk ladder and went tumbling to the floor. Rimmer dived just in time and caught her in his arms. AJ watched as his father rescued his best friend from a horrible fall, and clapped his little hands together in admiration.

"No climbing for you anymore, little missy." he told her, tapping her on the nose playfully. She just giggled, and Rimmer set her back on her feet and got up himself, looking to make sure Kacey didn't attempt the ladder again. She didn't, and instead wandered over to Lister's guitar.

"Pretty." she said, transfixed, running a tiny fingernail along the strings. She tried to pick it up the way she had seen her father do it, and nearly dropped it. Rimmer moved over to her.

"Do you want to hold the guitar?" Rimmer asked her.

"Yeah!" she grinned.

"Well, you hold it like this." Rimmer demonstrated, before guiding her arms to help her take the instrument from him and slipping the strap around her shoulders. "See? You look just like your daddy now."

Kacey smiled delightedly and twanged a single string with her finger. Rimmer nodded approvingly.

"That's it. Maybe you'll be able to play this better than your old man ever could, hmm?" he said, making her giggle again.

"Arnold?" Holly's voice echoed around the room.

"Yes Holly?"

"There's definitely a snowy planetoid down there. S3, breathable atmosphere. We're only a few clicks away from it and closing."

"Fantastic! Nice job Hol." Rimmer grinned. He turned to Kacey, who was now cheerfully trying to force a song out of the guitar (which Rimmer doubted was even tuned), and AJ, who was sitting sensibly on what was Lister's old bunk and wrinkling his nose at the ancient crumbs he could see.

"Hey kids." Rimmer said. The two toddlers looked up. "Wanna see some real life snow?"

"Yes!" AJ said, joyfully hurling himself off the bunk and into his father's (thankfully) waiting arms. Kacey reached out for Rimmer, forgetting she had the guitar around her neck, and it dragged her into a sitting position. She looked around, bemused, before continuing to stretch her little arms towards the now laughing Rimmer, who set AJ down before removing the guitar from Kacey's neck. He scooped both children up again and carried them out of the sleeping quarters.

It was about time they all took a holiday...

**Hope you liked the antics from the kids! Review please!**


End file.
